Sales & Marketing

Atlanta -- An improved housing market boosted Home Depot in its latest quarter, as the home-improvement retailer reported Tuesday that net income for the third quarter rose to $947 million from $934 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue climbed 4% to $18.13 billion, edging Wall Street’s estimated $17.92 billion in revenue. Same-store sales rose 4.3% in the U.S. and 4.2% overall.

Pittsburgh -- Dick's Sporting Goods reported Tuesday that net income for the quarter ended Oct. 27 surged 21% to $50.1 million, compared with $41.5 million in the same period last year. The retailer cited strong online sales for the improved performance.

Revenue rose 11% to $1.31 billion, just edging Wall Street’s expected $1.3 billion, and same-store sales rose 5.1%. Online sales soared 46.7%

Toronto -- Sears Canada Inc. reported Tuesday a loss of $21.85 million, compared with a loss of $44 million in the same period last year.

Revenue dropped 6.8% to $1.04 billion, and same-store sales slid 5.7%.

Chicago -- ShopperTrak released a forecast on Tuesday that indicates certain days during the holiday shopping season will be quieter than others. The "10 best days to shop," according to ShopperTrak, are those with the least amount of foot traffic in stores. The weekdays after the busy Thanksgiving weekend top the list.

New York -- Saks Inc. reported Tuesday that net income for the third quarter climbed 27.2% to $22.6 million, compared with $17.8 million in the same period last year. Results surpassed analysts’ expectations.
 
Revenue edged up 3% to $713.2 million, widely missing Wall Street’s expected $762.6 million in revenue. Same-store sales rose 3.3%.

Los Angeles -- Survey results released Tuesday by PriceGrabber found that 71% of consumers believe that retailers offer better deals during Thanksgiving weekend than they do during the rest of the winter holiday shopping season, up from 58% in 2011.

When consumers who indicated that the best deals can be found over the Thanksgiving weekend were asked which days retailers offer the best prices, 71% said Black Friday (Nov. 23), down from 80% in 2011 and 86% in 2010, and 41% said Cyber Monday (Nov. 26), up from 37% last year and 33% in 2010.

Emeryville, Calif. -- Digital marketing solution-provider Lyris said Monday that Australian retailer Harvey Norman has selected and deployed Lyris' digital marketing platform to increase online conversions and lead generation for the company's 180 retail stores.

Using Lyris, Harvey Norman will increase the quality of customer engagement across digital channels, and by doing so increase retention and loyalty.

Chicago -- ShopperTrak released a forecast on Tuesday that indicates certain days during the holiday shopping season will be quieter than others. The "10 best days to shop," according to ShopperTrak, are those with the least amount of foot traffic in stores. The weekdays after the busy Thanksgiving weekend top the list.